Celebrate Good Times, C'mon!

Congratulations to ... us!

The crew at Moments That Shine was ecstatic to find out that the blog has been selected by Best Wedding Blogs as one of the only THREE Canadian blogs currently listed on their site!



Many thanks to all of our guest authors that make this an exciting place to visit and to Stacie at Best Wedding Blogs for adding us on! :)

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A Slice of Advice

Choosing your wedding cake should be one of the most enjoyable aspects to planning your wedding. Here are a few details to consider before you get started:

Be prepared:

Before booking your appointment, you will need to spend a little time researching not only cake designers, but designs as well. Find out from recently married friends who they would recommend, get referrals from your other vendors, search wedding forums and blogs. Word of mouth is often the best way to find your ideal cake provider.
To help you figure out your design, search the Internet & clip pictures from magazines. Get a good idea of what you like and what you don’t. Make sure you bring along any images you find so that your designer can see what style of cake you are wanting. Also bring along any fabric swatches that you may want to coordinate, dress images - basically anything that inspires you. Your ideal wedding cake should not only reflect you as a couple, but should also reflect the theme and feeling of your wedding.

Know your limits:

Weddings can be expensive, and staying on track with your budget can be difficult. Make sure you have a budget in mind before meeting your cake designer. Designer cakes will cost designer prices. Our cakes start from $6.00/serving and can go upwards of $20/serving. Our average cost for cakes that serve 100 people is between $600-$850. If your budget is an important issue, make sure you discuss that with your cake designer. Then they can provide you with some options in order to try to reduce costs.

The Bait & Switch:

One note about saving costs: getting a smaller display cake (be it real or fake) and having additional kitchen cakes for the extra servings does not always save on costs despite what the magazines state. A kitchen cake still needs to be the same in appearance as the main cake (ie: same number of layers - it's not simply a single layer sheet cake like you can get at the wholesale food stores). Most private bakers only supply kitchen cakes when there is the need for the additional servings above and beyond what the main display cake will yield, and in most cases they will not supply the additional cakes if the main cake serves 100 people or less.

It’s all in the details:

Order your cake as early as possible. Anywhere from 6-9 months or more in advance is preferred. Some months are busier than others – prime wedding season will book up early – so plan ahead!

Know how approximately how many guests will be attending and be sure to have a good idea as to how you will be serving the cake: as the main dessert or later with coffee on the sweet table. These details are important to determining the size of the cake.

Think about how you will be displaying your cake. Today the cake is seen as the centerpiece of your reception, so proper display and placement should be considered. Most cake designers do not include table arrangement, decoration or design in the costs of the cake. So if you want something special for the display, be sure to consult with not only your decorator and florist, but your cake designer as well so that the ideal presentation can be created on your wedding day.

Decide if you want to save the top tier. This tradition was fine during the days fruitcake was the common wedding cake choice. But with today’s butter cakes, buttercreams, and other finishes, the idea of saving the top tier has become less important. If you still want to keep with tradition, make sure to tell your cake designer. They will need to size the cake accordingly.

Be prepared to pay a deposit once you decide upon your cake designer. This is necessary to guarantee your date. Due to the amount of time involved with custom wedding cakes, many cake artists will only take on a few bookings per month, so they book up early. If you want a custom and unique wedding cake, be sure to book early!

Make sure to find out if there are any delivery fees, set up costs, or other additional fees. Delivery fees are common, especially if the baker needs to travel a great distance from their studio. Set up fees are sometimes needed when the cake design is one that must be set up on site. Additional fees would pertain to cake stand rentals or other display materials that must be secured with a deposit and returned. Please note that in Ontario, there should never be any taxes applied to the sale of your wedding cake. Therefore you should not be charged either G.S.T or P.S.T on the sale of any whole cake in Ontario.

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Shut Up and Drive

Something that's fantastic for those of us who live in urban areas but don't have cars ... ZIP CARS! The basic philosophy is that you take out a membership with them, reserve your car, pick it up and then drive away. You don't have the worries involved with owning a car but you have the ease of getting around where public transit won't go.

Zip Cars are all through North America and in your particular area there are sure to be many pick-up and drop-off locations. What I also love about this is the company's green statement ...

"As the largest car sharing company in the world, we have learned through extensive research about the significant, positive environmental impact of car sharing. There are three major effects:

Members shed cars. Over 40% of our members decide against purchasing a car, or end up selling their car.

They drive less. Car usage of individuals is reduced by as much as 50%.

They use other transportation. Members use the most efficient means of transportation for the task — walking, biking, public transportation, taxi or Zipcar.

With each Zipcar replacing over 15 privately-owned vehicles, we're changing the urban landscape.
Older cars are replaced with new ones that have more stringent pollution controls.

Green space is preserved as fewer parking spaces are required to meet the driving needs of the same number of people.

Less strain on urban parking infrastructure — saving businesses, governments, and universities money.

Lower fuel consumption means fewer greenhouse gas emissions and particulates.

And yes, less congestion on the roads.

Zipcar is a critical element of the transportation network of many cities and universities, enabling residents, students and businesses to get rid of their cars and still meet their transportation needs.

At Zipcar, we also take pride in the fact that we promote a deeper sense of community as members within a small geographic area share a common resource and the money saved, reported by members to be over $5,000 per year, gets spent locally."

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You Light Up My Days

Are you planning on burning candles at your event? Actually, as a 'typical woman' I love candles just around the house. Something about candlelight makes everything look better ... softer even.

What many people don't know is there is actually a more planet-responsible candles everyone can buy. The average candles most people buy can contain nasties like soot, formaldehyde and lead. Any way you slice it, those things aren't good for us to be inhaling over a romantic dinner! But don't fear ... there are some simple things you can do ...
To keep soot emissions to a minimum, keep your wicks trimmed and place the candle away from any kind of draft. To cut down on possible chemicals, avoid buying any scented and gelatinous petroleum candles. And with the lead dilemma, here's a tip from Health Canada ... test your wick by peeling apart any fibre in the wick and seeing if it has a metallic core. If it does, rub it on white paper. If you see a gray smudge, it's probably lead so you're best to toss it.

This may leave you wondering what to buy!

North American-made candles normally do not contain lead nor do products from IKEA. If you want to be really safe though, look at replacing your candles with those made of beeswax or soy. Not only are they better for you but they're often longer-lasting! You can find many of these products in stores now (in Toronto check out places like Organic Lifestyle and Grassroots) and even online.

Happy hunting,

Susan

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Look at that Green

Woohoo! I stumbled upon the news of this book tonight and can't wait for December! Check out the description ...


The Green Bride Guide is a comprehensive, easy-to-access resource for anyone interested in planning a green wedding. It provides readers with general advice and specific eco-friendly ideas for making their wedding more beautiful and more sustainable. The Green Bride Guide emphasizes elegance, ease, individual taste, and the sense that there’s no need to give up a treasured ideal of a wedding in order to lessen its impact on the Earth.

Using a simple chronological structure, The Green Bride Guide makes planning a green wedding easy. Chapter topics include: Engagement, Location, The Eco-Chic Bride, Greening the Groom and Bridal Party, Green Save-the-Dates, Invitations & Wedding Websites, Sustainable Flowers, Transportation, Guest Comfort, The Green Ceremony, The Green Reception, Green Food & Drink, Green Music & Memories, Green Gift Giving and Receiving, and Green Honeymoons. Each section offers low, medium and high end ideas, with resources and web links in each category to help you plan a green wedding on any budget. The Green Bride Guide is an invaluable reference tool for any environmentally conscious pair looking to start their lives together in a way that is consistent with their values and beliefs.

Available in December 2008.

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On the Boulevard

My first purchase from Etsy has arrived!!!!!!! Many thanks to the wonderful peartreeri in making it a fabulous experience that has since addicted me ;)

To view what I bought, keep reading ...

My husband and I recently bought the home we had been renting for a couple years (long story). It's funny because as soon as the papers were signed, we immediately saw all of those little things we wanted to change. Our house number was one of those things. It used to be one of those boring faux-gold things that just didn't let people know anything about our style as soon as they pull up in the driveway. Well, now with our purchase, I think guests will be greeted beautifully!

Oh ... and if you ever come over to my place, the number below isn't my actual address number ... this picture was just better ;)

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Like a Blank Cheque Already Signed

Decided to do an Etsy find tonight. I think I'll make this a recurring topic because it's just too much fun! Without further ado, here are the goodies I'd be snapping up if I were you ;)


Birch Ring Cushion by EasterYu


Custom Wedding Dress Painting by empresstodesign ... a great way to preserve your wedding dress!


Just Married Magnetic Car Sign by tonyabug ... instead of going with a limo, why not dress up your own car?!


To ease your guests' minds, why not tell them what direction your celebration is in? This Reception Sign is by Funkifolkart


Recycled Poppy Hair Pins by foundling ... imagine your bridal party all wearing these funky y pieces!

And my favourite find of the night ...


Does your man roll his eyes at the thought of wearing a flower? How about this Music Boutonierre by frittsrosenow?!

I'll be back with more soon! :)

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Pulling Weeds in the Later Afternoon Sun - Part Deux

Moving on to Autumn Flowers!!!!!

Once again, please check availability in your area as these are not all grown in Ontario. The whole point to my posts in this arena is to make you a bit more conscious of local goods :)

Amaryllis


Anemones

Aster

Bittersweet

Calla Lily

Celosia

Chinese Lantern

Chrysanthemum

Cock's Comb

Dahlia


Delphinium

Fuchsia

Hydrangea

Liatris

Lisianthus

Narcissus

Marigold

Montbretia

Protea

Snapdragon

Star of Bethlehem

Sunflower

Tuberose

Zinnia


The possibilities in autumn are endless ... get creative!

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I Take My Leads From You

Slowly getting caught up with pictures from past weddings! The above is a shot of Sophie & James' whimsical cake. James is a bit of a fan of those little blue singing creatures and they made an appearance throughout the day. Oh, and the cake was delicious to boot!

The two of them are on their whirl-wind European honeymoon at the moment ...

This past weekend was a true delight. When Japan and Pakistan meet to celebrate, colour is everywhere. The day started off with a traditional Buddist ceremony performed by the bride's mother. A couple hours and an outfit change later, the couple adjourned to their sweetheart table for the reception. The venue was spectacular, the meal scrumptious and the entertainment ... well, entertaining!

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Running to the Future

I'm very excited for 'work' this weekend. I'm witnessing a celebration of one of those storybook loves. And this one has been a LONG time coming! At the same time I have the incredible pleasure of watching Judy Cormier in action with her camera ...



Yoko & Khalid have promised everyone quite the colourful wedding. It will be a traditional Buddist ceremony followed by a western reception ... with many Japanese and Pakistani flavours in between. Samosas and sushi, anyone?

When we visited the site earlier this week I snapped a few photos. Don't mind the quality of some ... I was trying to be quick and discreet ... next time I'll actually look at them before I leave!

The ceremony site *because the weather WILL hold up*

But in case of rain it will be here ...

The reception room is here. You can't tell but there are beautiful high ceilings and such a regal yet warm feel ...

The head table will be sweetheart style placed on this side of the room ...

Guests will be dancing the night away in here :)

And I can't wait to see what the venue displays in the foyer after seeing this arrangement!


Best of luck, Yoko and Khalid! We're all looking forward to the smiles :)

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Velvet Dreams and a Candy Prize

Are you a do-it-yourself bride? Maybe you love crafts in general. Perhaps, just perhaps, you have a strange attraction to ribbon like I do. Whatever the case, I found a cool site with vintage materials, ribbons, notions and other goodies.Reprodepot Fabrics has a fun selection of vintage reproductions and retro fabrics. They even have bunny buttons!!!





Go through the site and find your own favourites!

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